Bending The Way
by Winters Green
Summary: Naruto and his twin sister, Hitomi, have been wandering the entire continent for a village of their own. After a few unsuccessful years, their guardian spirits decide that its time that their wards find a home. That place just happens to be Konoha.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Avatar.

Summary: Naruto and his twin sister, Hitomi, have been wandering the entire continent for a village of their own. After a few unsuccessful years, their guardian spirits decide that its time that their wards find a home. That place just happens to be Konoha.

Chapter One:

His muscles ached from the set he had been working on for hours. The elements reacted to his movements eager to please his will. Air swiftly stirred around him and responded to his spirit. Soon, water flowed from a small gourd that he kept at his side which was barely noticeable and shifted its flexible matter according to his stance. The earth firmly attached to the ground was compelled to obey the force of his resolve. Last, fire erupted from his breath from the energy used to carry out the exercise.

To his left, his twin sister observed the exercise through the vibrations in the ground. Her hazy blue eyes saw darkness due to lack of sight. Though her vision was destroyed from an accident in their younger years, it didn't stop her from using other senses of the human body to see for her. Her nose crinkled at the smell of sweat and made her a bit ill. Not use to feeling her brother work this hard, she asked gently, "Perhaps you should stop and rest. We are not far from the village. It would not do for you to be so exhausted and…enter with an unpleasant odor of perspiration."

Waiting patiently for his reply, Hitomi frowned when all he did was ignore her and continue his activity. Letting out a sigh, she folded her legs underneath her white kimono and pulled out bandages from a brown satchel. Carefully, Hitomi made sure that there was enough left for the rest of the journey before cutting a three-foot long strip and held it out to Naruto. Her twin made a grab for it and wrapped it around his eyes.

Finally, her twin brother stopped and took a seat next to her. Both stared at the small breeze that she couldn't see but feel. Both thought about the village which ran them out and tortured them for the short time that they had stayed. Hitomi tilted her face towards her twin sensing the anger that was building up inside of him.

"No use in thinking about the past now, Naruto. It's time that we go on." Hitomi stood up and brushed off the imaginary specks off her kimono. Holding out a hand for her brother, she was disappointed that he only stood up and stiffly walked towards the hidden village.

Hastening her pace, she caught up to him and silently followed in his shadow heading for Konoha. The gates of Konoha came closer with each step taken. The chunnin guards standing guard observed the two small figures making their way towards their home with boredom. Guard duty was possibly the worst way to waste time for shinobi but someone had to do it. They just happened to be on duty.

Nervous, Hitomi hid herself behind her brother while he continued confidently. She pulled out both their I.D. cards and handed her brother's over to him.

Kotetsu spoke up first with the standard question to all visitors, "State your business." Izumo just glanced down at the children but fell asleep soon after having their faces registered into his photographic memory.

"We only wish to make Konoha our new home." Naruto stated with a monotone voice. Hitomi hid her nervousness with a mask of indifference when her brother spoke.

Quirking his eyebrow, the guard examined their I.D.s and with a wave of hand, the twins were allowed inside.

'Amazingly easy,' the thought passed through both twins and a smile

Feeling the ground, Hitomi had never felt so many people and buildings in her life. Other villages were either developing or too small to be considered a hidden village of their country. In front of her, Naruto led his sister to the Hokage Tower and let a small smile on his face for his sister but it quickly disappeared.

The twins scaled the steps toward the Hokage's office and inside, the Hokage studied the two. Satisfied that the two held no malice, he told his secretary to let the twins in. Entering, Sarutobi noted that the boy in front of him was distant and kept up a mask of coldness. Behind the boy, a girl who appeared to be his sister obediently stayed in his shadow. It was a bit obvious who demanded respect here.

Naruto scrutinized the old man that he once called grandpa. He looked a great deal older than the last time Naruto had seen him. Bags hung under the old man's eyes and wrinkles spread across his enter face. There were still some traces of laugh lines around his mouth but a great deal less than the time when he was still around. Honestly, he felt a little sorry for the old man and still remembered how kind the Hokage was regardless of the demon caged within his body.

The Hokage examined the boy in front of him. He looked to be ten years old and bandages wrapped around his head covering his eyes. Sarutobi frowned but let it go knowing that the answers would come to him. A loose white t-shirt and black cargos with their pockets undoubtedly filled with handy weapons along with worn out sandals at his feet that signaled to the Hokage that the pair traveled a long way. Long spiked blonde hair would become his famous trademark for the ladies. The boy uncannily resembled Arashi. He chuckled at the memory of former hokage. The Yondaime had been a real lady's man.

The girl was obviously his twin. Hazy blue eyes and long blonde hair knotted into a bun by a pair of what looked like golden hairpins. It was hard to see what decorated them but they were beautifully handcrafted. She only wore a small simple white kimono with a blue crane in flight at the very bottom towards the left. She wore no shoes but her feet showed smooth pale skin instead of the usual cracked.

"What brings you two to Konoha?" The Sandaime asked lighting his pipe directing his question towards the boy. Smoke drifted around the office but the two took no notice.

"We wish to establish this humble village as our new home." Naruto answered easily. He had already rehearsed the entire conversation in his head on the way here. He knew that his sister wasn't capable of holding a conversation with anyone but him so the responsibility of handling the Hokage was left to him.

"Are you traveling alone?" Clasping his hands in front of him under his chin, Sarutobi leaned forward in his chair with interest hoping that the two at least had guardians. It wasn't often that orphans would travel to Konoha.

"We are orphans." Naruto gritted his teeth at the word 'orphans'. Who cared if they were orphans? He was more than capable of taking care of his sister and himself despite the obvious handicap. After all, they had only depended on each other since birth with the help of their spirits.

At that statement, Sarutobi's eyes saddened. He knew that the boy wasn't lying. Gently, he asked, "May I ask as to how you became orphans?"

"No." The simple answer hung in the air and silence ensued after it. The Sandaime recognized the hurt that these questions brought with them but as Hokage it was his responsibility. Another question came into mind when he thought about their unusual eyes. "How did you two obtain your blindness?"

Both twins visibly stiffened at the question. Naruto clenched his fists and Hitomi placed a tender hand on his arm hoping to calm her brother. Naruto wasn't necessarily blind but her brother hated feeling weak so he hid his blindness with bandages. He also mentioned that they made him look cool. In a quiet voice, she responded, "An accident."

The Hokage only nodded. The children didn't want to talk about it and so he wouldn't pry further. They deserved that much.

"Tell me, what are you names?" Sarutobi pulled out two files from a drawer and placed blank records that were soon going to be theirs.

"Haruto and Yuuki Nakagawa." 'Haruto' replied quickly.

Writing out the fake surnames, the Sandaime asked more questions and Haruto answered as best as he could feeding the Hokage lies. The discussion dragged out for at least half an hour. Soon enough, Haruto and Yuuki Nakagawa gained Konoha citizenship and were to be supervised by the Hokage himself. _(For the rest of the story, their names are Haruto and Yuuki unless something comes up.)_

While the Hokage busied himself writing out their records, Haruto pondered on the subject of school. They had both received their education under the tutelage of various shinobi and spirits during their travels. Though, he knew that children his age were required by law to attend either a civilian school or a ninja academy. When it came to civilian business, Haruto was pretty much useless. He hated the idea of becoming a civilian and not have the joy of fighting that was against the law for the general public.

His sister also enjoyed the simplicity of the civilian life. She was a great fighter on the battlefield but missed the pleasures of just staying in a home. Hesitantly, Haruto asked, "Is there anyway to enroll into the ninja academy?"

Sarutobi glanced up sharply and digested his words. Carefully, the old man questioned, "Have you received former ninja training?"

Clearing his throat, Haruto replied, "My sister and I have gone through strict guidance of various teachers of the martial world. Only I wish to continue on this path and I have heard that Konoha has one of the finest academies in the country."

Yuuki gazed at her brother with fear evident in her face. Though she couldn't see him, it troubled her as to why he would want to pursue such a dangerous career. They had spent their lives on the road and had seen more than enough battles to last a lifetime.

The Sandaime looked over to Yuuki noticed her body trembling with anxiety at the choice her brother had just made. He was a little surprised that Haruto would ask for such a thing. For people who lived a life such as his, most would turn to the civilian way of life tired of the constant battles which the world forces upon them. Again, he questioned, "Are you certain?"

Drawing in air, Haruto responded, "My sister and I have no money to support ourselves with. I am not going to force her to join me. From my research, I have heard that only in the hidden villages of each country that those who did not have money to attend a school then they had the choice of entering a ninja academy for free. We can both work part-time to maintain an apartment and food. After I graduate, we should have the money to live without outside help."

"If that is what you want. Here is 5,000 yen for you to start with. Starting today, Haruto you will be attending the Konoha Ninja Academy." Sarutobi took one glimpse at his watch. "Your class will be starting in about five minutes. I will escort you there myself."

"Excuse me." Yuuki said quietly. "I don't need to attend a civilian school. I'd rather find a job in the village instead. I have received education outside this country and my knowledge should be adequate."

The Sandaime thought it over and sighed. "Very well. You can take an exam up at the civilian school to see if you qualify to graduate. Now follow me."

Yuuki nodded. The Hokage escorted both twins out of the Hokage Tower. Yuuki was dropped at the civilian school not too far away from the academy for her exam. Her situation was explained to the principal and they agreed. Afterwards, Haruto was escorted to the academy.

Inside, they stopped in front of a classroom. Haruto could hear a man lecturing to his class. Apprehension crept into his body but he only pushed it down by keeping his face impassive. It wouldn't do if he showed weakness to those who would be his future teammates.

Opening the door, the whole class stopped listening to Iruka's lecture and curiously turned their attention towards the door. The Hokage stepped in with a blonde boy trailing behind him. Iruka raised an eyebrow at this.

"Iruka, so good to see you. It has been awhile." The Hokage chuckled at the young chunnin standing in front of him.

"Hokage." Iruka bowed low and straightened himself. "What brings you here?" he asked his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Ahhh…that is an interesting question. You see, you have a new student and this will be his first day here." The Hokage pushed Haruto in front of him for Iruka to get a better view.

"Of course. I will add him to attendance right away. I'm sure you have his records, right?" Iruka went through his pile of papers on his desk for the attendance sheet. The Hokage pulled out Haruto's records and handed them to Iruka.

"I will be leaving now. Haruto, please do be gentle with your classmates. Good day, Iruka." Leaving, the Hokage shut the door behind and blew smoke into the corridor.

"Haruto, please understand that I mean well." Then he left.

"Why don't you introduce yourself to the class?" Iruka suggested to the new student. Haruto glared at him but the anger waves radiating from it didn't affect the man. Heaving a sigh, Haruto complied.

"Haruto Nakagawa." Stating his name, Haruto gave no more. The class stared at the new student with weird looks on their faces. Of course, he didn't notice and waited for the teacher to say something.

"Is there anything else you would like to share such as siblings, you hobbies, etc.?" Iruka urged him.

"I have one twin sister. No guardians. No hobbies." Haruto stared blankly at the white wall behind the last row. Iruka gazed at the spot that the boy was staring but found nothing interesting there. Knowing that was as much as he was going to get, he told Haruto to go sit in the back next to a student named Shikamaru.

When Haruto reached his destination, he found that his neighbor was sleeping. Drool leaked from a corner of his mouth as Iruka started up his lecture again on a strategy problem. Taking his seat, he studied the other students that were worth his attention.

His neighbor was undoubtedly lazy or terribly tired but he bet all of his money on the first. There was not much to tell since the boy was sleeping so he moved onto the next student. Scanning the room, his eyes landed on a rather large male next to his neighbor eating chips.

'_Brute strength.'_ The thought ran through his mind when analyzing him. I need him on my team, Haruto decided. Strength was not one of his best though he had been training his muscles to get stronger. The large boy would surpass his strength as time would pass something that would be good to work with.

A pink head soon came into view. The girl seemed rather intelligent but was currently putting all her attention into a certain raven head on the left side of the classroom. She lacked focus. That was something he definitely did not need. He already had a short attention span and she would only make it shorter. Trying to pay attention to Iruka was already pretty hard.

During his inspection, a straw-colored hair girl was also putting her attention on the raven head. She lacked focus also. What was wrong with all the kunoichi in this village? He discarded her from his mind. A boy with shades interested him. Haruto noticed that student was probably the taciturn and very observant type. He filed the boy away for later.

A blue haired female wrung her hands in front of him always blushing every time she glanced in his direction. She held promise but lacked the confidence to show it. It would be something that she would have to work on but he didn't want to work on his future teammates too much. Haruto wanted them to be able to handle their own training while focusing on his own. He would think about it later.

The raven head captured his attention but not the way that most of the female population seemed to have. He was arrogant. A quality that Haruto hated but he acknowledged the fact that the boy would be powerful. Though, he was a person that he would never allow on his team.

'_Intelligence.'_ A characteristic that was becoming increasingly difficult to find in the class and few had a small amount of. He would have to wait and see if someone showed promise in that area. Inside, he doubted the potential the class would show in the future.

"Oi."

Haruto turned his head towards the source of the voice. "So you finally decided to wake up." He drawled out. Shikamaru only yawned loud and blinked a few times to clear his vision.

"I didn't know that someone occupied this seat." Shikamaru said obviously a bit disorientated after his little nap.

"I am a new student." Haruto said slowly to analyze the boy next to him. He was correct from his assumption before. Shikamaru was indeed lazy but beneath Haruto could sense a genius of intelligence.

While Haruto was examining him, Shikamaru grew a bit nervous underneath his lazy façade but didn't allow it to show. This Haruto character was a bit unnerving to say at the least. He carried the air of a war veteran. The way his fingers drummed against the wooden surface of the desk and the way his face was stuck in an impassive way. It practically screamed out danger.

"You like shogi?" Shikamaru asked bored. He had been itching for someone to challenge his intellect. Haruto smiled and nodded. The two boys became fast friends from the one game of shogi. Haruto found out that the rather large male sitting next to Shikamaru was Chouji Akimichi.

In the end, Shikamaru had won but without a fight. Haruto was pretty good for a beginner and had creative ways of throwing off his opponent.

"Who do you want on you gennin team after graduation?" Haruto asked careful not to sound too enthusiastic.

"Chouji and I have already planned to be in the same team. So we made up a system. As for our third member, we thought about Ino since her father was on our fathers' team. Though, I really don't want her to be on our team. She lacks focus which could endanger us at some point." Shikamaru answered. "So while you were asking that question, Chouji and I decided to make you as our third member."

"Thanks." Haruto smiled at the two boys. Finally, a chance to have some friends even if they were one of the lowest students in class ranking. It was nice to have someone to talk or have fun with. His sister was fine but he needed something more and he suspected that she needed it too.

"You need to be one of those at the top of the class. I have already taken the position of being the dead-last. Chouji is the average. In Konoha, the teachers place the teams by grades so it is kind of easy to predict the results since there are not many dead-lasts in this class." Shikamaru explained.

Haruto nodded in understanding. "So all I have to do is beat everyone else, well almost everyone, and we become a team."

"Exactly." Shikamaru smirked at his ingeniousness. Haruto and Chouji only grinned. This is going to be fun, he thought to himself.

---Class Ends---

Haruto found his sister patiently waiting steering clear away from the parents and students. It hurt him to see her all alone and she looked so fragile. She was always a bit thin and small for her age. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her petite body. Surprised, she quickly shook herself out of her shock to smile and return the hug.

"This is your sister?" Shikamaru walked towards the pair with Chouji behind and another bag of chips.

"Hi-Yuuki. This is Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akimichi." Haruto introduced his friends to his sister. Taking one of her hands, he led her over to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at the escort but his sharp mind realized what Haruto was doing. "Your sister is blind." He said softly. Chouji glanced at Shikamaru sharply and turned his face to have a better look at her eyes.

Her face pointed a bit downward instead of looking up. It could have been out of apprehension but her body language showed no sign of it. She simply stood still as if waiting for some movement. When Shikamaru held out his hand for a shake, Yuuki took small step back as if she was going to run away.

"She's not the only one." Haruto answered quietly. He pointed at his bandages and both boys were stunned. Shikamaru recovered from the shock the fastest and resumed his lazy attitude.

"How did you get accepted into the academy with a handicap such as that?" Shikamaru asked.

"The Hokage allowed me to enter. I already have enough knowledge and experience so why can't I be accepted?" Haruto shrugged.

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed in suspicion at his new friend. Experience…

"Troublesome." Shikamaru sighed and took up a slouched position that looked as if he were going to keel over any minute. Chouji didn't voice his opinion in the matter and trusted Shikamaru's judgment of their new friend.

"I found an apartment and two jobs. The civilian school said that I qualified to graduate and so I was able to apply." Yuuki said smug about her newfound success.

"So you're not a ninja?" Shikamaru asked.

"No. I prefer to remain as a civilian." Yuuki replied without hesitation.

"Whatever. My mom forced my dad and Chouji's to take us out to dinner. You guys can tag along, please." Shikamaru stated with a bit of somber look at the thought of his mother.

"Your mother forced him? Isn't she a civilian?" Haruto asked with confusion evident in his voice.

"I don't understand either and please don't ask. It's just too troublesome." Shikamaru waved the two questions away and lead them over two men that looked identical to their children just older.

"Who are these two?" Shikaku grinned and patted his son's head which earned him a scowl. The man's grin only grew wider.

"Haruto and Yuuki Nakagawa. You think you can treat them?" Shikamaru asked looking for support from Chouji.

Chouji nodded before stuffing another chip into his mouth. Haruto and Yuuki bowed simultaneously.

"Of course. That is if these two don't eat up all my money." Shikaku glanced back at the two Akimichis.

"Oi, I'm hungry. Let's hurry it up and get to the restaurant." Chouji's father grabbed his son's shoulder and turned him around. When the Akimichis were hungry, they could run as fast as he could. Haruto panted when arriving at the restaurant. The others were no better.

"Yosh! We're here!" Both Akimichis cheered at the sight of the place and rushed in. The group chose a table at the side and ordered. Waiting for their food, the twins made themselves comfortable next to each other with Chouji and Shikamaru on either side. Shikaku and Choza chose seats across from them.

"So how long you have two been in Konoha?" Shikaku asked focusing his attention on the twins.

"We've actually just arrived today." Haruto answered then took a sip of his jasmine tea.

"Oh, really? Where did you come from?" Shikaku inquired.

"We wandered from village to village until we arrived upon Konoha. My sister and I decided to try our life here. So we don't have a home." Haruto responded. His sister shifted a bit in the seat next to him. He placed a hand on her own to calm her a bit. She instantly allowed herself to relax against the seat at his touch. Shikaku noticed the gesture.

"Where are your parents? I was hoping to invite them also." Choza abruptly asked stopping his consumption of chips that just happened to be in his coat.

"We don't have parents or guardians. The Hokage supervises us." The atmosphere surrounding the table dropped a few degrees.

"Oh." Choza just stopped the conversation there. Inside, Shikaku mentally slapped his forehead at the stupidity of his longtime friend.

"Why did you join the ninja academy?" Shikaku asked hoping to change the subject.

"I joined because the tuition would be free and I already have the knowledge that the average ninja should have in school from various teachers who also were ninja. My sister, however, decided to remain as a civilian." Haruto took another sip of his tea.

"I see." Shikaku noted that the boy didn't say his sister would be a student in the civilian school so she must have already graduated.

"Food is here." Choza interrupted. While eating, Yuuki immediately warmed up to the other two boys. Soon enough, the four of them were laughing and conversing with each other. Both fathers smiled at this.

Shikamaru and Chouji were childhood friends. The boys didn't make any other friends because of teasing and laziness. So finding out that the boys had made new friends excited the parents. Their wives encouraged/forced the fathers to take the children out to eat and get to know the new friends.

Shikaku liked them enough but there was something about them that made him stay on his toes. Choza also noticed this but chose to say nothing.

After the group finished their meal, the four friends waved good-bye and started home. Shikamaru and his father walked silently home. Both pondered on the subject of the twins. Arriving home, Shikaku's wife demanded that they tell her how the evening was. Only receiving a grunt, she beat them until they gave her a more descriptive explanation than a grunt.

Sitting down at the dining table, Shikaku looked hard at his son. Shikamaru bore his lazy face again.

"Your friends seem nice." Shikaku offered knowing that his son would never have the strength to actually use his vocal cords to start a conversation.

"Hn."

"If I were you, I would keep an eye on them." Shikaku advised.

"I trust them. Good thing that I'm not you. It would be so troublesome." Shikamaru stood up to leave to his room. Shikaku's eyes followed his son's form up the stairs.

Upstairs, Shikamaru crashed onto the soft mattress of his bed. Inside his mind, he questioned himself. Do I really trust them? He thought. It was a hard question. After a few minutes of troublesome thinking, he decided. _'Yeah I trust them…'_

End of Chapter One


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Avatar.

Summary: Naruto and his twin sister, Hitomi, have been wandering the entire continent for a village of their own. After a few unsuccessful years, their guardian spirits decide that its time that their wards find a home. That place just happens to be Konoha.

Chapter Two:

_I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sounds they make as they go flying by. _–Unknown

A year passed by for the foursome. Graduation was near and all had passed. Shikamaru had continued his streak of being the dead-last, Chouji remained average, and Haruto with flying colors. Practicing every night on the basic jutsus to pass, he still had trouble with his chakra control.

Even when Yuuki had taken almost all of the Kyuubi's chakra from his body to alleviate the stress, it was still difficult for him to maintain the Bunshin jutsu along with a henge. Shikamaru had informed of their exams and explained to each of them what it was consisted of. The teachers had kept the graduation exam the same and this year wouldn't be any different.

Today was the date of the graduation exam and Haruto was a bit apprehensive of the last part of the exam. He had been able to master both jutsus but just barely. It infuriated him that he couldn't even do two of the most basic jutsus that the ninja world had to offer.

Haruto remained as second in class ranking beating everyone in the class except Sasuke Uchiha. He really didn't bother being first because he knew that he could count on Shikamaru's predictions to be correct. The Uchiha wasn't worth his time. Once this exam was over, the group had decided to visit Ichiruka stand.

"Ok, everyone. Listen up. All of you will go in order according to your last names to take the exam. First up, Akihito Mai!" A random chunnin shouted to the class.

A girl timidly made her out of the classroom to the one next door where two chunnin instructors would test her. More students went through the exam. Some failed and some passed. Chouji had passed easily. Soon enough, Haruto's name was called. Shikamaru and Chouji just gave him a knowing grin and resumed their habits.

Haruto took his time entering the room and sat down. Iruka-sensei handed him a paper and pencil telling him that this was the writing part of the exam. After only a few moments, he was able to finish in record time and handed in his paper with a perfect score.

The taijutsu was easier and Haruto had easily beaten the chunnin that had been his opponent. Then the difficult part came. The last part of the exam that consisted two of the hardest jutsu that Haruto had ever come across but was probably the easiest jutsu that any academy student would ever learn.

"Ok, Haruto. This is the last part of the exam. All you need to do is create two Bunshin clones of yourself then use a henge on both of them to look like me." Iruka explained to him and sat down next to another chunnin, Mizuki.

Concentrating hard, Haruto made sure that all interfering of Kyuubi's chakra was withdrawn back into the seal before performing both jutsus. This only took seconds for him to do but to himself, it seemed like forever and painful.

Two perfect clones stood side by side next to him and then a moment later, a henge was cast on both making them look like Iruka. Both chunnin instructors wrote on their clipboards before ushering him out back into the other classroom. Haruto made his way to Shikamaru and Chouji heaving a sigh and sunk into his seat.

"That bad, huh?" Shikamaru flicked an imaginary speck off his desk which was more than enough to both boys that he was still tired.

"Not really. Actually, it was incredibly easy." Haruto gave out a yawn before falling asleep on his desk when Shikamaru's name was called.

It was only five minutes before Shikamaru came back to his seat. Both boys asked how it was but the lazy boy only shrugged before falling asleep just as Haruto had done.

It was the end of the day and all three boys made a mad dash to the ramen stand while Shikamaru just jogged after them mumbling how troublesome it was to catch up to the two hungry gennins.

Yuuki stood there waiting for them with a huge smile on her face when all of them told her the good news. Shikaku and Choza had also made it giving their sons' painful pats on their backs. The fathers were about to give one to Haruto but he declined politely seeing the looks of torture that marred his friend's faces.

Shikaku and Choza had long forgotten their suspicions of the twins after spending more time with them. The Hokage had come to celebrate his ward's graduation. He congratulated Haruto by giving him a present of a new set of kunais. Later, the Hokage had to leave because a large stack of paperwork awaited him at the office.

Finishing their meal, they all split up to go home. Haruto and Yuuki made their way to their apartment. Of course, one of the twins happened to notice a scroll sticking out of a trash can nearby the building and told his sister to go on without him. Haruto looked over the scroll astonished at the find.

The Scroll of Forbidden Seals.

Haruto had seen the scroll in the Hokage's office and wondered why such a thing was thrown away. Deciding that the scroll still had its uses to him, he sprinted to the nearest training field and began memorizing each of the jutsus.

It was only on the last one that Iruka found him with the scroll. His instructor was furious but after the situation was explained, the chunnin understood and suggested that they return to the office and return it to the Hokage. That is, until, Mizuki intercepted them told the truth of his betrayal.

Angry, Iruka shouted to Haruto run for it but the gennin wouldn't move. Iruka turned around and saw that his student's lip was set in a straight line.

"Mizuki…your name sounds so familiar…" Haruto pondered on the name a bit more. Where had he heard it from last?

"I was your chunnin instructor today during the exams. But that doesn't matter…" Mizuki started but Haruto interrupted him.

"No…Snake. You smell of snake." Haruto hissed out in anger. "Never thought to see another one here."

Mizuki's eyes narrowed at the statement. "What do you know?"

"Does it matter?" Haruto's voice whispered from behind into Mizuki's ear. A kunai made its way under his chin threatening to push its sharp point into his throat. "Because our conversation is done."

Eyes widening from shock, Mizuki didn't have enough time to block Haruto's blow knocking him down to the floor.

"That's enough." The rustling of robes wakened Iruka from the scene that just took place. Quickly, he straightened up and bowed. Haruto, however, turned his head towards the Hokage as acknowledgement that he had heard the order.

"Iruka and Haruto, follow me to my office. Don't worry. Your sister has been informed of what has happened tonight." The Hokage escorted both shinobi to his office and sat down comfortably in his leather chair gesturing for Iruka to report the events of the event.

"It was Mizuki not Haruto. Mizuki is the traitor." Iruka stared down at the floor.

"I see." The Hokage fingered the pipe in his mouth and turned his head towards the gennin.

Haruto nodded.

Heaving a sigh, the Hokage rubbed at his tired eyes. This had been a long night. After the scare of losing the scroll, he couldn't relax now because of what Haruto had learned tonight were forbidden jutsus that had been banned for a reason.

"You are not to repeat what you have seen." He ordered Iruka. "Dismissed." The chunnin nodded and left.

"As for you, Haruto. You will continue with your life as if nothing happened but I doubt that you will. It is a good thing that I have assigned your team to a very capable jounin who will teach you to master those techniques. Do not tell anyone except your sister of what you have done and only use those jutsus in an emergency."

Haruto nodded again.

"Dismissed." The Hokage waved off both shinobi.

As soon as Haruto left, a jounin stepped out from the shadows with most of his attention focused on an orange book. He only tilted his face towards the Hokage without taking his eyes off the book. Sarutobi massaged the temples of his head warding off any headaches that threatened to enter into his mind.

"So that's him?" The jounin jerked his head in the direction where Haruto just left.

"Unfortunately, yes. Do you think you can handle him?" The Hokage glanced up to the jounin.

"Looks interesting." The jounin turned his back on the Hokage preparing to leave.

"His team will be very interesting." The Hokage replied and returned to busying himself with the large stacks of paperwork covering his desk.

The jounin stood there for only a moment pondering on the words that had just left the Hokage's mouth. Shrugging, a puff of smoke surrounded where his body had been and as it soon as it disappeared, the jounin had already left.

"I am too old for this." The Hokage mumbled under his breath.

--- The Next Day---

"Team Seven! Nakagawa Haruto, Nara Shikamaru, and Inuzuka Kiba…" After all the other teams had been called off, Iruka looked up at the class with a smile.

"You will all wait here for your instructors." Iruka-sensei ordered his former students before leaving.

"I guess I'm not on the same team as you guys." Chouji looked sorrowfully at the two before looking down at his own desk.

Shikamaru frowned at his miscalculation but quickly rethought the whole plan. Kiba and Chouji were tied for the middle and it made sense that they had no tracker in their team. Both dogs did make up for the lack of strength when put up to the challenge. The boy sighed from the oncoming headache threatening to enter his mind.

"Don't worry about it. Ino isn't that bad once you learn to ignore her and well…" He glanced over at Shino who appeared to be completely entranced by his desk. "Shino isn't that bad…"

Haruto didn't say anything.

"So I got stuck with you two losers." Kiba slipped in behind the three boys and grinned.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru passed out in his chair from the sheer exhaustion of comforting Chouji while Kiba looked incredulously at the lazy gennin.

Soon enough, the entire class erupted into excited whispers except for a particular threesome. Haruto wondered about their jounin instructor and who the mysterious person was to fill that spot. Shikamaru's eyes drooped and his face displayed the first symptoms of sleep. Chouji decided that this would be the best time to pull out the chips from his jacket and eat.

Jounins came and went picking up their students. Meanwhile, the group stayed in their seats patiently waiting for their instructor to come and meet them. Chouji had already left with his team and Kiba whispered with his little dog, Akamaru. Minutes turned into hours for them. Haruto was beginning to doubt that the jounin would actually come so he started a game of shogi with the lazy gennin next to him.

Another hour passed and Shikamaru had barely beaten Haruto for the hundredth time in the past year. Finally, the jounin had come to the door watching his new students play. Five minutes passed before they acknowledged his presence.

"You're late." All three chorused.

In those five minutes, the two had already started another game and Kiba had taken to watching them. The jounin sweat dropped when his supposed students ignored him and continued the game. So he took a post behind the group and observed as the two opponents stared down at the board.

"So you guys just want to start the introductions here?" The jounin betted with Kiba as to who would win this round. He put his money on the blonde one while Kiba put his on Shikamaru.

"Sure. Why don't you go first because it's my turn?" Haruto moved a piece while Shikamaru studied his move closely.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no hobbies. I don't think you would want to my goals. I don't really have likes or dislikes." He finished when Shikamaru had done his move. _(don't actually remember he says…and I'm too lazy to look it up. But I think you guys get the gist of it.))_

"Name is Nakagawa Haruto." Haruto finished his move.

"Inuzuka Kiba." Kiba followed Haruto thinking that the boy would know what he was doing.

"Nara Shikamaru."

All three boys continued to gaze at the board game. That certainly gave him a lot of information. Kakashi was annoyed. They were going to beat him at his own game and he was losing the bet. Haruto had made one false move and Shikamaru won the game again. Paying Kiba, Kakashi glared down at the blonde who only smiled back. He watched as the dog boy split his winnings with the three.

"I had my money on you." He accused Haruto.

"That's fine. It's not my money." Haruto countered shrugging at the jounin.

He sighed. There was nothing he could do to get the money back. Kakashi walked towards the door and gestured for the boys to follow. Pointing towards the roof, he said, "We're going up."

Once the group was on the roof, Kakashi studied each one closely. He was pretty sure that the one called Shikamaru was intelligent but probably the weakest in strength out of the group. Haruto didn't give anything away so he could only assume that the boy was better than what he gave away at school. Kiba was possibly the strongest out of the group but lacked patience and brains.

"Tomorrow we are going to have a survival test." Kakashi waited for their reactions. He was disappointed when none of them said anything.

"I suggest that you don't eat breakfast tomorrow if you don't want to throw up." After that was said, Kakashi left and all three boys just waited for him to leave.

"Finally, I thought he was never going to leave." Shikamaru stretched out his arms and leaned back against a wall.

"What do you think of his survival test?" Kiba asked looking at Shikamaru. He was curious as to how the other two boys seemed to be a step ahead of their new sensei.

"I'm not too sure. Though, it can only be two things." Shikamaru slid his back down the wall and sat on the cement of the roof. "It is probably to test our skills and knowledge. The other is testing our teamwork. You notice how most of Iruka's lectures this whole week was on cooperation, trusting our team, etc. He made it real obvious. So tomorrow the test would probably be over that."

"That makes sense." Haruto surmised. Kiba only nodded.

"I guess we better get going. We are going to miss lunch if we don't hurry. My mom says she doesn't mind us coming over. If we don't go home fast she might change her mind." Shikamaru stood up and Kiba followed suit.

"Sorry. I have to go see my sister. I will come over later." Haruto waved his friends off and started walking in the opposite direction.

When Haruto arrived at Shinsaku's Weapon Shop, Yuuki stumbled out of the building coughing with a large smoke of black trailing behind her. The same black smoke drifted out from windows and other open vents from the building. He was at her side in an instant and helped her up from the ground.

"This really wasn't supposed to happen." A man ran out of the building. He, too, was covered in black soot from head to toe.

The twins glared at him. Yuuki flipped up the sleeves of her black shirt and stomped up to him yelling in his face, "What do you mean that wasn't supposed to happen? I told you that a constant build up of fire and how could forget to put away that gun powder? Now, we have to work all day to clean up the mess and forge new weapons!"

"Shinsaku-san, it would be a good idea to surrender and just go along with whatever my sister tells you to do. Otherwise, your weapon shop will be ash the next morning." Haruto advised the man.

"Of course, I will pay you both since you were so gracious enough to stop by and help me." The weapon's smith left and returned to the building.

"My clothes are ruined." Yuuki somberly looked down at the remains of what were her clothes. The brown cargos and black shirt she had worn were nothing more than soot just barely clinging to her body.

"I suggest that you go inside and change. You do have that extra kimono in the locker room, right?" Haruto led his sister into the building and waited by the door of the locker room for his sister.

"Woah. What happened here?" A young girl entered the shop with two other boys with looks of awe on their faces.

"Your father decided that today would be the best day to blow up his weapon shop. As you can see, it was very successful." Haruto gestured at the black walls and counters where weapons were supposed to hang.

"My father did this?" Tenten gazed around at the damage. "This is going to cost us a fortune to repair. Okaa-san is going to be furious."

A hand covered her mouth when the forbidden words were spoken. "Don't tell your mother what happened. This doesn't leave this building." Takumi hissed into his daughter's ear.

When she complied, he took away his hand from her mouth and grinned. "Good thing your mother is out on a mission, eh?" He slapped his hand onto her back causing her to stagger forward from the blow. At that moment, Yuuki came out with a plain white kimono.

"Who are your friends?" Yuuki asked to distract Tenten's father from embarrassing the girl further.

Blushing, Tenten managed to get out, "These are my teammates, Rock Lee and Hyuuga Neji."

Both boys bowed to Takumi while the man only twirled a kunai around his finger. Yuuki watched the man with suspicion in her eyes. In an instant, the kunai flashed towards Neji and Lee only to be caught by Haruto who just happened to be the closest to the boys.

"Otou-san!" Tenten exclaimed and punched her father full in the face. Takumi flew across the room skidding across the surface of the front counter and landed behind it with a satisfying _thud_ that rang in her ears.

"I will go put him back. He really should be more careful." Yuuki slid Takumi's arm across her shoulders and dragged the man behind the counter into the forging room.

Haruto felt all of Tenten's teammates and was surprised at what he felt. The one called Rock Lee was unexpectedly strong but his chakra coils were seriously underdeveloped. He was most likely a taijutsu specialist since chakra was necessary for genjutsu and other jutsus.

Neji Hyuuga's body tensed when feeling vibrations coming from Haruto's body. He immediately stopped them and Neji relaxed when the vibrations discontinued.

'Sensitive.' Haruto thought eyeing the boy. Neji gazed down at the bandaged face kid with contempt.

'And arrogant.' The thought took Haruto back to a certain raven-haired student back at the Academy.

"Did you need something, Tenten?" Yuuki came back wiping away the last of the soot from her hands with a washcloth.

Neji stood up straight and quickly wiped away invisible dirt that was on his clothes. A small blush had crept along the Hyuuga's cheeks but it was barely noticeable. He snorted at the way the boy straightened up when his sister entered the room and Neji glared at him from the corner of his eye.

"Nah, but Lee needs new weights." Tenten gestured to the green spandex figure next to her.

"Greetings! My name is Lee." Lee bowed down as low as his body would allow.

"Of course. Just lay your weights on the ground so I can measure them." Yuuki heaved out a large weight machine out from behind the counter.

Lee peeled off the orange wraps around his weights and carefully untied each weight and placed them lightly on the ground to form a pile. Once he was done, Yuuki picked up the weights and put them all onto the weight machine.

The dial started to spin crazily when the weights touched its metal surface. Spinning faster and faster, Tenten peered down at the unreadable weight before pulling away.

"Just how much weight do you put on?" Tenten asked when pulling her face and began backing away. The twins noticed her movement and did the same until they were a safe distance away from the machine.

"I don't know. I lost count after 140. I never was good at math…" Lee looked down at his fingers and decided right then to challenge himself to count the weight.

Haruto and Neji put considerably good distance away from the machine. Yuuki and Tenten stationed themselves behind the boys hoping that the 'strong' ninja in front of them would make good shields.

"Oh yes! Tenten, the weight is…" Lee started excitedly before a loud BOOM resonated within the already damaged shell of the weapons shop interrupting the taijutsu master.

---Several Hours Later---

Yuuki flipped the closed sign on the door of the weapons shop. Her black kimono camouflaged well in the dark which was white a few hours ago.

"Finally." She breathed out in relief in the thought of going home to a nice shower in warm water.

"I'm glad I don't work here. I'd rather face enemy shinobi any day." Haruto clapped his hands together forming a large cloud of black soot in the air in front of him.

"Hmmm." She answered locking the door.

Haruto tilted his face towards the sky. "Do you know a Hatake Kakashi?"

Yuuki looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. "Yes."

"What do you know about him?" Haruto folded his arms in front of his chest listening for any information.

"Not much except his nickname is Copycat nin. He supposed to be one of the best and you can always count on him to be tardy. Always stops by here before his missions. Let's go." She took his arm and led him down the alleys and streets to their home.

"Interesting." He tugged his arm out of her grasp to think.

Yuuki shrugged. Her brother was always an odd one.

End of Chapter Two.


End file.
